It’s good to be James Gunn’s brother and an actor in Hollywood. He won’t let you sit around doing nothing for long. In the case of Sean Gunn, who played Kraglin in three Guardians of the Galaxy movies, he’s now found a home within Gunn’s new DCU, as one of the biggest villains in the DC Universe: Maxwell Lord.
According to Deadline, Sean Gunn will play the villainous Maxwell Lord in the DCU. It’s unclear if he’ll first appear in Superman: Legacy, the film that kicks off Gunn and Peter Safran’s DC Studios. The report states Lord “will be referenced in the background of Legacy but will appear in future DC projects. A similar motif will occur for other characters in the new DC Universe.”
Pedro Pascal most recently played Maxwell Lord in Wonder Woman 1984. Don’t expect to see that version ever again, further cementing a move away from Gal Gadot’s Diana Prince.
Maxwell Lord has been many things in the DC Universe. He was introduced in Justice League #1 as a savvy businessman in support of the team, helping to create the Justice League International. Later, he would become a villain who was secretly gaining intel on superheroes, leading him to ultimately murder Blue Beetle, Ted Kord, before then being “killed” by Wonder Woman.
Casting Gunn in the role suggests to me that Maxwell Lord might be more of a comedic bad guy than one to take seriously. Or perhaps they’ll revert Lord back to being an ally of superheroes, rather than someone actively trying to destroy them?
